Dems Wrong On Racial Charges
Wednesday - September 23, 2009
Former President Jimmy Carter has embarrassed himself and his party with his recent allegations that the outburst by Rep. Joe Wilson during President Obama’s congressional address was “based in racism.”
This malodorous statement is the culmination of other insinuations that racism is the basis of opposition to the president’s agenda. Adis-quieting crescendo was reached when Rep. Hank Johnson invoked the uber-violent imagery of the Ku Klux Klan when he reacted to Wilson’s comment that we will probably see “folks in white hoods and white uniforms riding through the countryside intimidating folks again.”
Wait a minute. What was the issue again?
And that is the point. The debate and discussion of healthcare reform has been occluded with the ingratiation of the “race card.” Instead of a substantive and precise exchange about the pros and cons of President Obama’s desire to overhaul the way we do our health business, we are in the muck trying to avoid the shrill accusations of being racist. We have arrived at the point where criticism of this president must pass the “non-racist” litmus test. Unfortunately, with the tone of Washington today, it appears this is a test that cannot be passed.
All you need do is consider the appalling behavior of Democrat leadership in the House of Representatives. Wilson did blurt out his sentiments regarding a statement made by the president in his sales pitch to Congress. Yes, it was unprecedented and it did bruise traditional protocol. But Wilson apologized for his indiscretion and the president graciously accepted his apology. In most quarters, this would signal the end of the issue.
Instead, it was the beginning of a vulture-like descent for Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Steny Hoyer. The sanctimonious bluster emanating from Democrat leadership had to have violated numerous EPA regulations. The paltry justifications in the pursuit of formal disciplinary action against Rep. Wilson were rife with disingenuous and hypocritical hyperbole. I wonder what the CIA would have to say about the holier-than-thou indignation shown by Pelosi?
Let’s remember that it was not a conservative Republican who invoked race into the contemporary political debate. Rep. Charlie Rangel, Rep. John Dingell and New York Gov. David Paterson, all Democratic African-Americans, were the ones who spoke of race tainting the opposition to President Obama’s proposals.
Today, it’s liberal Democrats who continue the race—baiting as demonstrated by the aforementioned statements by Rep. Johnson.
National GOP Chairman Michael Steele, who is black, summed up the situation accurately and succinctly by saying opposition to President Obama’s positions is not about race, but about policy.
It’s time to stop the distraction and misdirection for the sake of political expediency by Democrat leadership and focus on substance while representing the best interests of all Americans.
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